Throw-away teeth protector

ABSTRACT

A throw-away teeth protector comprising an arcuate base member having channel-shaped cross-section and a string of plastic material in the arcuate channel, said string having a free surface adapted to be forced against the points of the teeth to be protected, when the protector is to be used, so that the teeth are embedded at least partially in the plastic material.

United States Patent Carlson Feb. 11, 1975 [54] THROW-AWAY TEETHPROTECTOR 35,247,844 4;!366 Berlghzlish 128/!36 ,457,9l6 7 l 69 Woic i[761 9 Eddage" 3,496.936 2/1970 Gores 128/136 182 63 D ursholm, Sweden[22] Filed: Apr. 3, 1973 Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney,Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby & [21] Appl. No.. 347,365 Cushman [30]Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Apr. 5, 1972 Sweden4367/72 A throw-away teeth protector comprislng an arcuate [52] U S Cl32/40 R 128/136 base member having channel-shaped cross-section and [51]11/00 a string of plastic material in the arcuate channel, said g stringhaving a free Surface adapted to be forced [58] Field of 32/14 1 128/136against the points of the teeth to be protected, when [56] ReferencesCited the protector is to be used, so that the teeth are em- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2/1966 Jacobs l23/l36 bedded at least partially in theplastic material.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB] 1 I975 3.864.832 a SHEET 1 BF2 Fig. 2

Fig.3

THROW-AWAY TEETH PROTECTOR The present invention relates to a throw-awayteeth protector adapted to be applied in case of a temporary risk ofteeth injuries.

It has been known for a long time that there is a risk of injuries ofteeth and teeth protheses during such medical incisions or treatmentswhich require work in the oral cavity or the insertion of instruments ofvarious kinds through the oral cavity of an anaesthetized patient.During such operations, the throat of the patient is usually completelyopen and, on some occasions, it has occurred that loosened teeth orpieces of teeth have fallen down into the throat and have passed downinto the digestive tract or via the windpipe into the lungs.Particularly in the last-mentioned case, the situation is serious andpossibly directly dangerous to life. Apart from the risk during the timethe work operations are performed and instruments are inserted orremoved, there are also risks of injury when an anaesthetized patientfalls asleep or wakes up since at these moments spasmodic bitingmovements will often occur.

While several types of teeth protectors are previously known, e.g.through US. Pat. Nos. 2,705,492, 3,016,052 and 3,124,129, they allrequire pretreatments before use, e.g. heating to make the protectingmaterial soft enough for application on the teeth or a combination ofelements to obtain a filler material which can start curing in a basemember.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a throw-awayteeth protector which can easily be applied without further preparationsteps when there is a risk of injuries of the teeth.

According to the invention this object is attained by a teeth protectorcomprising an arcuate base member of an elastic material which is ofsubstantially channel shape in cross-section, the ends of the channelbeing open, and characterized by a string of plastic material in thearcuate channel, the string having a free surface which is adapted to beforced against the points of the teeth to be protected when theprotector is to be used, so that the teeth are embedded at leastpartially in the plastic material.

The use of a string of plastic material in the channelshaped base membermakes the teeth protector ready for use without any pre-treatments.Furthermore, by leaving the ends of the channel open, the teethprotector can be made to fit all or at least several sizes and shapes ofthe jaws. This will facilitate the use of the teeth protector anddecrease manufacturing and distribution costs.

Another object is to provide means for retaining the plastic string inthe base member channel.

Still another object of the invention is to design the teeth protectorso that the plastic material is prevented from being pressed out fromthe base member when the teeth are forced into the plastic material.This is attained by making the plastic string slightly shorter than thebase member channel, so that the ends of the plastic string are locatedat a distance from the ends of the base member, and by making the innerwall of the base member higher than the outer wall.

By using a string material which is plastic and elastic at roomtemperature the teeth protector will be still more effective, as theelastic property of the material will give a better protection in caseof a powerful strike on the teeth protector.

Two embodiments of the invention will be described below more closelywith reference to the attached drawings. The same reference numeralshave been used for corresponding portions in the two embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective an embodiment of a teeth protectoraccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the same teeth protector.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section through the embodiment according toFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross section view through the embodiment according to FIG.4.

The teeth protector shown in FIG. 1 comprises an arcuate base member 10which is formed with smoothly rounded edges so as to avoid discomfort tothe person to which the teeth protector is applied and which ismanufactured of a flexible, elastic material, e.g. plastic. The basemember 10 has an outer arcuate side wall 11 and an inner arcuate sidewall 12, which form a channel 13 for receiving a string 14 of plasticmaterial. As shown in FIG. 1, the side walls have a reduced height atthe ends of the base member. By this form the teeth protector is welladapted to the human teeth jaw. The base member channel 13 has openends. The absence of end surfaces at the ends of the base memberfacilitates to a large extent the forming of the teeth protector in onestandard size, which fits all or almost all teeth jaws, upper jaws aswell as lower jaws. The ends of the string 14 is conveniently located ata small distance inside the ends of the base member 10.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the teeth protector according to FIG. 1 andFIG. 3 shows a cross-section along the line III-III in FIG. 2. From FIG.3 it can be seen that the outer side wall 11 of the teeth protector ishigher than the inner wall 12, which is anatomically correct and causesan improved fixation. The base member 10 has a substantially U-shapedcross-section and is slightly narrower at the central portion than atthe end portions. This design will facilitate the production of a teethprotector of one standard size which fits all or most jaws and at thesame time avoids unnecessary lumberingness or ungainliness of the teethprotector. At the central portion of the teeth protector the dimensionaldiscrepancies between the jaws of different persons are at a minimum. Atthe ends of the jaws the individual variations are considerably larger.The internal side surfaces of the base member are also provided withprotrusions 15 extending into the channel 13, said protrusions servingto retain the string 14 of plastic material in the base member channel.The side wall protrusions l5 consist of long ridges running along thechannel and passing the ends of the plastic string. The outer side wall11 and the inner side wall 12 are substantially perpendicular to theplane of the arcuate base member 10.

The embodiment of the teeth protector shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 differsfrom the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 3 by the facts that in theembodiment according to FIGS. 4 and 5 the inner wall 12 is higher thanthe outer wall 11 and that the base member is provided with protrusions16 on the outside of the bottom of channel 13. The inner wall 11 isabout 2 mm higher than the outer wall and the height of the protrusions16 is about 5 mm.

The height of the inner wall 12 will prevent plastic string materialfrom being pressed out of the base member into the mouth, because theinner wall 12 will abut the jaw and form a shield when the teethprotector has been applied. Due to the free space at the ends of thebase member no plastic material is forced out at the ends of the basemember, neither.

As the inner wall 12 is higher than the outer wall 11, the side wallprotrusion 15 on the'inner wall 12 is positioned slightly higher thanthe one of the outer wall 11.

The bottom protrusions 16 consist of ridges having rounded sides andspaced apart. The protrusions are positioned unsymmetrically withrespect to the symmetry axis of the base member in the plane of the basemember. This feature will make it possible to use identical teethprotectors for both jaws without the protrusions on the two teethprotectors facing each other. If the protrusions are just opposite toeach other, the protrusions may slide on each other, due to the roundedor sloping sides, so that the jaws may be displaced sidewards withrespect to each other in case of powerful chewing or biting which may beinjurious to the person using the teeth protectors.

The bottom protrusions 16 will provide a free space between the basemember and, the teeth of the opposite jaw or between two base members.This free space will prevent the risk of cutting offwires or pipes whichhave to pass into the mouth during medical incisions or treatments. Itis comparatively easy to avoid that such wires or pipes get clampedbetween a protrusion and an opposite base member or tooth.

The base member 10 is also provided with a small aperture 17, in which acord, attached at a point outside the mouth of a patient, can befastened to prevent that the teeth protector falls down into the pharynxduring the application or removal procedure.

The string material should be plastic and elastic at room temperatureand can e.g. consist of a nonthermosetting plastic, e.g. silicon rubberpolymer with silicon oil as a binding agent. Such a material has theadvantage that the teeth protector will be ready for use without anyfurther preparation step and that the elasticity of the material willfurther decrease the risk of injuries on the teeth, as alreadymentioned. It is also necessary that the material will come loose of theteeth when the teeth protector is to be removed. The mentioned materialhas also this property.

Only two embodiments of the teeth protector have been shown on thedrawings. However, it will be understood that many different shapes arepossible. It is important that the base member is formed so that theteeth protector cannot cause any injuries during the application or theuse and that it stabilizes and protects the string of plastic masssatisfactorily. The design of the outer side wall at the ends of thebase member can be varied in many ways and the inner side wall maypossibly be inclined so that the channel will become wider at the freesurface. The height of the outer side wall can also be reduced at thecentral portion of the base member. The side wall protrusionsillustrated in FIG. 3 may possibly be excluded or replaced by groovedsurfaces or the like. The protrusions on the bottom of the channel canalso have many different shapes, e.g. spherical.

The teeth protector is particularly intended for use, when work is to beperformed in the throat of a patient and various instruments have to beinserted through the oral cavity. Even on other occasions the teethprotector can, however, effectively prevent injuries. Patients, whichare being treated in intensive treatment departmerits after seriousheart infarcts or extensive burns, have often a tendency to press theirjaws together and grind their teeth. The teeth protector, if applied insuch a case, will have a protective and pressure-equalizing effect,which eliminates the risk of injuries. Also in sport or training ofvarious kinds a temporary application of a teeth protector according tothe invention can be justified in order to eliminate the risk of teethinjuries. The crews in armoured cars and tanks, e.g., during specialtransport conditions, experience considerable discomfort from theirteeth due to vibrations and engine noise, which is compensated bystrongly biting the jaws together. Also in this case the teeth protectorcan be used as a safety means. Since one and the same size can be usedby all persons and the teeth protector due to its simple structure andlow production cost can be formed as a throw-away protective device, theuse can also easily be made satisfactory from a hygienical point ofview.

During the application, the free surface of the plastic string ispressed against the points of the teeth, so that the teeth are embeddedin the plastic mass. If in spite of the protector any filling or part ofa tooth should come loose,-said part will remain in the plastic mass andbe removed from the oral cavity together with the teeth protector,whereby all risks of complications occurring herefrom are eliminated.

What I claim is:

l. A throw-away teeth protector for use during medical incisions andtreatments, comprising:

an arcuate base member formed of an elastic material, said base memberhaving a substantially channel-shaped cross section with the inside wallthereof being higher than the outside wall and wherein the bottom of thechannel on the outside is provided with protrusions which are spacedapart to form a free space between the base member of a protectorapplied on one jaw and the teeth of the opposite jaw, the bottomprotrusions being positioned unsymmetrically with respect to thesymmetry axis in the plane of the base member so that the bottomprotrusions are displaced with regard to each other when two identicalteeth protectors are used simultaneously in both jaws, the ends of thechannel being open and a string of plastic material being positioned inthe arcuate channel inside the ends of said base member, saidstringbeing plastic and elastic and non-curing at room temperature and saidstring having a free surface which is adapted to be forced against thepoints of the teeth to be protected, when the protector is to be used,so that the teeth are embedded at least partially in the plasticmaterial, the plastic material being maintained plastic and non curingin use.

2. Teeth protector according to claim 1, in which the side walls of thebase member facing the channel are provided with protrusions forretaining the plastic string in the base member channel.

3. Teeth protector according to claim 2, in which the side wallprotrusions consist of long ridges running along the channel. v

4. Teeth protector according to claim 3, in which the ridges, before theuse of the protector, pass the ends of the plastic string.

5. Teeth protector according to claim 1, in which the bottom protrusionsconsist of rounded walls running across the bottom channel substantiallyat right angle to the channel.

6. Teeth protector according to claim 1, wherein said material consistsof silicon rubber polymer with silicon oil as a binding agent.

1. A throw-away teeth protector for use during medical incisions andtreatments, comprising: an arcuate base member formed of an elasticmaterial, said base member having a substantially channel-shaped crosssection with the inside wall thereof being higher than the outside walland wherein the bottom of the channel on the outside is provided withprotrusions which are spaced apart to form a free space between the basemember of a protector applied on one jaw and the teeth of the oppositejaw, the bottom protrusions being positioned unsymmetrically withrespect to the symmetry axis in the plane of the base member so that thebottom protrusions are displaced with regard to each other when twoidentical teeth protectors are used simultaneously in both jaws, theends of the channel being open and a string of plastic material beingpositioned in the arcuate channel inside the ends of said base member,said string being plastic and elastic and non-curing at room temperatureand said string having a free surface which is adapted to be forcedagainst the points of the teeth to be protected, when the protector isto be used, so that the teeth are embedded at least partially in theplastic material, the plastic material being maintained plastic andnon-curing in use.
 2. Teeth protector according to claim 1, in which theside walls of the base member facing the channel are provided withprotrusions for retaining the plastic string in the base member channel.3. Teeth protector according to claim 2, in which the side wallprotrusions consist of long ridges running along the channel.
 4. Teethprotector according to claim 3, in which the ridges, before the use ofthe protector, pass the ends of the plastic string.
 5. Teeth protectoraccording to claim 1, in which the bottom protrusions consist of roundedwalls running across the bottom channel substantially at right angle tothe channel.
 6. Teeth protector according to claim 1, wherein saidmaterial consists of silicon rubber polymer with silicon oil as abinding agent.